This report from the Institute for Agriculture & Trade Policy looks at the emissions of the 20 largest meat and dairy companies based in Europe. These 20 companies combined are responsible for emissions equivalent to 131% of total emissions produced by the Netherlands, according to the report’s estimates. Only four of the companies report their total supply chain emissions, and only three plan to reduce their total supply chain emissions, although 10 have announced climate targets. 

This video from German animation studio Kurzgesagt takes a balanced look at the debates around the environmental impacts of meat. It draws on some TABLE resources including Grazed and Confused (our report on the question of soil carbon sequestration by grazing livestock) and our explainer Soy: food, feed, and land use change. Kurzegesagt’s video We lied to you… and we’ll do it again is also worth a watch for an overview of how they balance simplification and accuracy when communicating complex topics.

This report from Greenpeace Denmark identifies seven “myths” used in marketing materials from large meat companies. It assesses the imagery commonly used with each of the seven narratives using examples of real adverts, and argues that meat advertising should be regulated more closely.

This study, published by the Wellcome Trust-funded Livestock, Environment and People (LEAP) programme at Oxford, finds that average meat consumption per person in the UK has fallen from 103.7 g per day in 2008 to 86.3 g per day in 2019 (a 17% decrease). This encompasses a decrease in red meat consumption (13.7 g/day), a decrease in processed meat consumption (7.0 g/day) and an increase in white meat consumption (3.2 g/day).

This report from Dutch NGO the Changing Markets Foundation argues that a lack of attention to reducing methane emissions puts the world at greater risk of reaching climate tipping points. It analyses the climate commitments of the 18 countries with the biggest meat and dairy industries, as well as the largest meat and dairy companies worldwide, and finds that neither governments nor corporations are taking sufficient action on cutting methane emissions.

US-based alternative protein startup Eat Just is planning to build a large-scale cultured meat plant in Qatar, with the support of the Qatar Free Zones Authority and investment from a state-backed venture capital firm. Eat Just plans to export to neighbouring regions as well as western Europe. If Qatar’s Ministry of Public Health grants approval for Eat Just’s cell-based chicken (produced by its subsidiary Good Meat), the country will become the second to permit the sale of cultured meat, following Singapore (see our summary Cultured meat approved for sale for the first time).

This investigation by international media outlet DeSmog examines how ten large meat industry organisations are portraying their activities as climate-friendly through their public messaging. It identifies which narratives about meat and climate are used by each of the ten organisations.

This paper compares detailed nutritional properties of burgers made from a plant-based meat replacement (based on soy) and from grass-fed ground beef. It concludes that, although the macronutrient contents (e.g. protein, fat) of both options are similar enough that consumers reading nutrition labels may view them as nutritionally interchangeable, there are significant differences between the two in the levels of 171 out of 190 metabolites studied. 

In this paper, TABLE member Philippa Simmonds analyses the debate around meat taxes in the UK, using media analysis and interviews with key stakeholders, and assesses how perspectives in the debate align with various political ideologies.